The great beast let out an almighty roar as the steel tipped shaft punctured its side. Its mighty legs gave way beneath it hurling its crew to the ground. The dazed orcs staggered to their feet trying to avoid the wildly flailing limbs of the mortally wounded beast. Just as they thought they were safe a single a arrow struck the first orc killing him instantly. The rest of the crew had little time to feel the hand of fear as more arrows struck their unprotected bodies.
To the Fantasy wargamer the above conjurers up a picture of brave deeds and mass slaughter uninhibited by the niceties such as the Geneva convention, flag of truce, and even common humanity. To the minds of many conventional wargamers, the idea of fantasy wargaming stirs feelings of pity for those brethren who have not quite got it right Grown men who are perfectly content to push grenadiers a la Guard, Roman legionaries and Tiger tanks around a tabletop have been seen to break into bouts of screaming savagery at the merest glance of a minor wizard or lowly orc. There is no remedy for this condition. Institutionalization is the only answer. The goblinoid hordes are here and dis-believers had better run for the polystyrene-stepped hills.
So what makes so many opt for fantasy wargaming? Well there are a lot of different reasons. Many players get into fantasy via other periods. To the ancient and medieval wargamer especially, creating a fantasy setting is a natural extension of the basic one off wargame. If you already own armies of Vikings, Saxons or almost any medieval, then you already have the basis for a traditional style fantasy wargame. For years my own armies of Saxons, Normans, and medievals formed the core of my fantasy wargames be they barbarian followers of a necromantic wizard or idealistic peasant revolutionaries. Even today with the vast range of fantasy models to choose from you can still find knights, spearwalls and longbowmen in my nations' armies.
Using existing historical models is a relatively cheap way to begin fantasy gaming. A dedicated fantasy player, however, is only truly happy when up to his elbows in goblin gore, smashed skeletons, and insane howling demons. This can be a very expensive business especially if you want to fight large, elaborate battles. Fortunately, fantasy battles are not all mass battles and huge sieges. Small games, skirmishes, and brawls are all targets for the imaginative gamer - not to mention raids on inns, jail breaks, bank robberies, kidnapping and rescuing princesses, assassinating national leaders, arson, and so on. Most importantly you don't need thousands of models before you can begin - unlike, say with many historical periods where you need 1000 or 2000 points for a game. Skirmishes with 30 models per side can be very rewarding, allowing you to develop the individual traits of a character or monster.
Before You Take the Plunge
Before you plunge the unsuspecting multi universe into a new age of barbarism and chaos you will probably want to consider for a moment the rules systems available. If coming in from medieval or ancient wargaming you might want to contemplate the already established WRG. historical rules. Obviously some tinkering is necessary, but nothing that lies beyond the average solo wargamer. Army lists for translating middle-earth forces into WRG are published under the title of The Lidless Eye but I think it is out of print now. You may be able to pick up a second-hand copy though.
For me it has not been enough to say that such and such a monster causes the same disorganization as an elephant or that a giant throws a rock like a siege engine. Nope - the fantasy wargamer requires much in the way of unthinking heroism, gallant blood letting, justifiable carnage and all those other aspects that separate fantasy from "real life" wargaming.
My first set of fantasy rules were Reaper published by T.T.G. I now use the very popular Warhammer published by Citadel. These rules manage to convey a great deal of real fantasy feeling, allowing the different races to fight and act in a way that is both "realistic" and, sadly, not always convenient for their generals! I will say though that in the years that I have been a fantasy wargamer, I have seen Citadel prices rocket, partly no doubt to their demand. They produce a nice figure but there are other manufacturers who also do for part of the cost.
For the innovative individual, you can make the rules up yourself! Even if you use another set of gaming rules you can always adapt them as necessary to meet the requirements of new situations, creatures and weapons. After all, using your own imagination is supposed to be what solo wargaming is about! Fantasy gaming in particular lets your imagination run riot. How many ancient or napoleonic players do you know who fight anything other than "line em up and bash" battalion or army level games? Sadly to me, both these periods invite a one-sided battle-orientated approach. That's not a bad approach - but its only one way of looking at things. Why not skirmishing, ambushes, pillaging, house assaults, sabotage, chases, kidnapping, assassinations, mob riots, robberies and all those other aspects of warfare?
Fantasy wargaming can be a terrific source of ideas for the pipe smoking, tweed jacketed "traditional" wargamer. Perhaps if more gamers spent some time amongst the slain bodies of foul Orcs and goblins we would hear less arguments about differences between technical equipment and more about troop psychology, motivation and incentive, a fact very hard to deny as a 15 foot mountain troll stomps all over your favorite unit of fully armored knights !
The variety of troops available to the fantasy gamer is vast. Human armies are perhaps the most popular. They act sanely, (most of the time) and are not subject to extremes of battle madness or cowardness. This does not make them boring. Your force will include a few special leaders or character models, a mighty warlord, a wizard prince, a veteran commander, or a mysterious warlock. Any of these can turn an historical army into a fantasy fighting force.
Always Popular
Always popular amongst gamers are the goblinoid armies of orcs, goblins, and hob-goblins. Evil and sadistic creatures motivated by the promise of an easy victory and the taking of captives to torture or eat or both! Apart from being ugly and twisted they are also green which makes a pretty sickening sight on the wargames table! Do not forget the armies of the undead. Zombies and skeletons make excellent troops, they never refuse your orders, are cheap to feed and never fall asleep on guard duty. Of course, you do need an undead champion or necromantic wizard to control them but you also can field units of other foul undead creatures, ghouls, wights, wraiths, and ghosts.
If you prefer more human looking creatures look no further than the dwarfs or elves. Elves are good fighters and powerful wizards. True, they are a bit reluctant to get dirty and can be a bit stand-offish. Dwarfs however are solid, down-to-earth types with no sense of humor. They particularly dislike Elves so keep the two races apart! Finally let us not forget the many large monsters that inhabit our fantasy land that you can control, (or try to!) the mighty dragon, giants of all shapes and sizes, and colors. Creatures of mythology, the manticore, hydra and chimera to name but a few. So next time you visit a convention or show, spare a few minutes for the fantasy demo. You may like what you see!
[Who has been upsetting our Billy? I think I will start a new column - Hyde Park Corner! Bring your own soapbox or borrow Mr M's! Form a line behind me! Still what better place can there be to air your personal views than in the pages of Lone Warrior! Welcome back, with a vengeance, Billy! Kenn]
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